The Bright Side
by HalloweenJesus
Summary: The Third Hokage takes a special interest in making sure Naruto grows as a ninja and gives him a Jutsu scroll upon his graduation. A more competent Naruto is sorted onto a team with Kiba and Hinata. Canon-based retelling of the Naruto story with a humorous twist, NaruHina centric.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Alright! Fine! After years of being asked to do so, I'm writing a Naruto-Retelling, NaruHina centric fic. Kudos to UrBoiPedro12 for finally convincing me and writing two of the best currently going Naruto fanfiction on the whole site, House of Glass and Relocated. He's a buddy, go check him out. Anyway; our story starts in the Hokage's office, the night of Mizuki's arrest.

**Note: **Naruto belongs to Kishimoto, Shueisha, and Shonen Jump.

* * *

The Sandaime scratched at his furrowed brow, unsure what to make of the situation which had unfolded over the past few hours. He raised his gaze to glare at the man who had been brought to his office, currently restrained forcefully by two Anbu. Following a resigned sigh of disappointment, he spoke with a stern, albeit not loud tone; a commanding presence, to be sure.

"Mizuki, why did you convince an academy student, _Naruto_ no less, to steal the Scroll of Seals? Not only is that document locked away, it is forbidden for a reason. Did you not think of how dangerous those techniques could have been, especially in the hands of one so inexperienced? I thought you better than this; the boy could have been killed, and as far as reports are concerned he might well have been without Iruka's help!"

The Chunin in question strained against his Anbu captors, spitting as he yelled out a response ripe with a nigh-feral madness Clearly, this man's position as a ninja of the leaf would no longer stand.

_"Tch- Killed?_ Wouldn't THAT have been nice, Sandaime-San! The village would have been rid of yet another problem, something _you _should have sought to years ago, as soon as the Yondaime drew his last breath! With a leader as incompetent as you guarding it, that scroll belongs in the hands of somebody who deserves it!"

The Hokage simply shook his head, so sorely let down by the quality of one of his own, hand-appointed instructors. Then, upon hearing the second portion of Mizuki's sentence, he froze, his eyes widening with anger rarely seen from the man and his hands slamming into his desk as he stood up.

"To allow a personal grudge, never mind how idiotic it is, to impact your instruction and allow your judgement to go this far south... and intending to take the scroll for yourself? I am baffled you are a product of this village, and horrified I've let somebody of your moral caliber teach our students! Were you put up to this by somebody? Do you have an excuse? Please, give me one reason I shouldn't sentence you to death this very moment!"

Mizuki simply snorted and sneered in the Hokage's direction.

"Orochimaru-Sama wouldn't have let this happen. You have no clue the injustice you're doing, letting that Nine-Tails _brat_ run around the village and play ninja! He's dangerous, Sarutobi; a plague. Hell, you're enough of a fool think Iruka put me in this shape! Did you not see that the ingrate himself did this to me after just a couple of hours with that scroll? You're making a mistake. "

The elder shinobi's gaze fell, his disappointment growing even further. He thought for a moment, ruminating on just how downright awful the last few hours had been, not only for him, but for poor Naruto. To allow him to be manipulated like that... put simply, Hiruzen had failed him.

_'I should have known that not even the academy would have been safe from the aftershocks of the burden Minato's choice left on that boy's shoulders. I'm truly sorry, Naruto; I will make it up to you.'_

With a sad, downright dull tone of voice, Hiruzen motioned to the Anbu.

"Mizuki, Chunin of Konohagakure, I sentence you to die for having violated the taboo decreed 12 years ago. Take him away...and fetch me Iruka. I need his report. Judging by Mizuki's words, I suspect that he did not just idly sit by during the time it took us to find him."

With a nod, the Anbu vanished, taking the condemned prisoner with them. Yes, that last thing that Mizuki had said was odd; Naruto, taking down a skilled Chunin? Going only off of his academy performance, such a feat sounded impossible to Hirzuen. Yet, the boy _had_ stolen the Scroll of Seals and read it, according to his information. Then again, learning any of the jutsu on that scroll would surely have taken more than a few mere hours?

_A conundrum indeed._

Those were thoughts for his next conversation though. Soon after this, the Hokage heard a knock on his door.

"Come in, Iruka."

Hopefully this man would have some of the answers that Hiruzen desperately needed to plan his next course of action.

* * *

The Academy's dead last showed up to his classroom exhausted from last night's events. Slumping into his seat, Naruto found himself reminiscing over what had occurred. Had Mizuki-Sensei really been that evil? And never mind the Kyuubi; that was a _whole_ separate can of worms. Oh well. At least he'd gained something out of the whole experience; a sick new jutsu!

_'Hell yeah! With the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, I'll be able to kick that stuck-up Sasuke's ass in no time!'_

Unfortunately, Naruto's internal gloating was interrupted by a familiar voice cutting through his brainwaves; Iruka-Sensei. Naruto straightened himself in his seat quickly, ready to hear what his favorite instructor had to say.

"Alright class! So, if you're in this room, you have graduated from the academy and officially become a Genin of Konohagakure. First, I will list off the names of every individual who passed the test."

Iruka went through the names of everybody in the class without much fanfare, however, upon stating Naruto's name, there were a few gasps and more than a handful of groans to be heard. Despite the overall negative reception to the revelation that the blonde had, in fact, passed his exam, the newly minted Genin couldn't help but crack a wide grin. He loved the idea of having surprised people; it was the first of many surprises he had in store for the village, hopefully.

_'First the academy, then the Hokage's office. Watch me, people.'_

Soon, Iruka had finished listing all of the names, and had moved on to his graduation speech.

"Right, well. I'd like to say a few words to put a pin in your time at the academy. You've all shown astounding progress from when I first met you four years ago. That said, don't forget to keep honing your skills! The life of a ninja is tough; you will sometimes be forced to do things your heart may urge you not to do. This is our way of life. With that out of the way, the most important thing is to remember that you are, before anything else, proud ninja of Konohagakure. Now, I'll go ahead and announce team assignments."

Immediately, many of the previously tuned-out Genin had perked up, excited and nervous to hear who they were to be assigned with. Eventually, it came to Naruto's turn to be named to a team.

"...next, Team 7 will consist of Naruto Uzumaki, Kiba Inuzuka, and Hinata Hyuuga. Team 8 will consist of Shino Aburame, Sakura Haruno, and Sasuke Uchiha. Team 9 will consist of Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka, and Chug Akimichi. Aaaanndddd... that's all. Alright; you're all now dismissed for an hour to get lunch and meet up with your Teams. Your new Jounin sensei will all arrive after that to introduce themselves."

As soon as Hinata heard her name called next to Naruto's, she nearly fainted. How would she manage being on a team with HIM!? On the other side of things, Sakura was internally pumping her fists at being named to a squad with Sasuke, who was, as it happened, brooding along with Shino, more bothered by all the noise than anything. Kiba seemed eager to be on _any_ team in the first place, and all three of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio had their own gripes about their teammates.

"Eh, how troublesome; of course I end up on the team with blonde bimbo."

Ino piped up at the spiky-haired Nara's comment.

"What was that, lazyass?!"

Shikamaru simply shrugged, content to ignore his new teammate to no end.

Naruto, on the other hand, was processing in his own way.

_'Huh... I don't really know Hinata or dog-breath all that well, but neither's ever been mean to me. Hell, didn't Hinata try giving me a gift last birthday? Weird. Still a bit of a drag about not being on a team with Sakura, but oh well; I'm sure we'll be the greatest team ever!'_

Then, as the classroom began to clear out as teammates interacted with one another in the courtyard, Iruka said something a tad more surprising.

"Naruto, I actually have some more news for you."

The boy perked up.

"What? What's up, Iruka-Sensei?"

Walking up towards his student's desk, Iruka had an odd look on his face, one which Naruto was not familiar with. Upon reaching him, Iruka said something very interesting.

"Naruto, I'm not sure if I should say this or not, but after..."

The man looked around.

"-after last night, I talked to the Hokage. He was wondering how you'd passed the Graduation test and had questions about what happened, and well, I told him what you did to Mizuki."

Naruto's eyes widened as he began making frantic, apologetic gestures.

"Oh no! I'm sorry Iruka-Sensei, I didn't mean to do anything wrong I prom-"

Iruka, quickly reminded of his student's loud, energetic tendencies far earlier in the day than he would have liked, put a hand over the boy's mouth to shut him up before correcting the boy.

"No, Naruto, you aren't in trouble; Mizuki was the only person in the wrong last night. In fact, it's quite the opposite: after hearing that you learned the Taju Kage Bunshin No Jutsu in only a couple of hours, Hokage-Sama was astounded. So, as a form of extending his congratulations, he told me two things."

The blonde nodded frantically, his mouth still covered, earning yet another sigh from Iruka prior to continuing.

"First, he told me to bump up your Ninjutsu grade to a perfect score. Technically, that means you aren't last in the overall academy standings anymore. That's why you ended up on a team with Inuzuka and Hyuuga."

This time, not even Iruka's hand could muffle Naruto's surprise, although a loud Uzumaki was far from uncommon in the academy, so it didn't draw much attention.

"WHAT?! The old man told you to do that? Why?"

Iruka gave Naruto a look of confusion; did he not understand how impressive his feat was?

"Naruto, you learned a Forbidden, upper-Jounin level technique in two hours and successfully used it to its highest potency to defeat a Chunin only minutes later. That is beyond abnormal, and is a sign of a prodigious talent. The Hokage even chewed me out, saying that if you'd been given the focus that say, Sasuke, received from his instructors, you would have thrived, and I'm inclined to agree. I apologize for that, actually; I know these few years have been hard on you."

At this point, the Chunin had given up on silencing the boy, but surprisingly, Naruto's response was rather tame by his standards. With wide eyes and a beam, he simply nodded his head, clearly satisfied with the praise he'd received.

"I know you tried, Iruka-Sensei. I have lots of time to study up and become a better ninja anyway! The only thing I need to do now is find more stuff to learn... maybe I could take a look at that scroll again?"

Iruka responded rather instantly to that statement, caught somewhere between a laugh and a grimace.

"Not a chance! But, you now that you mention finding things to learn, that brings me to the second thing the Hokage wanted me to do. He told me to give you this."

Upon speaking, Iruka reached under his flak jacket and revealed a small, but substantial and tightly packed scroll which Naruto eyed with wonder.

"This is a jutsu scroll that Hokage-Sama himself wrote out for you. I'm not sure exactly what's on there, but he told me to tell you to read it in order. I warn you Naruto, you should listen to the Sandaime. If he made that scroll for you, it likely has some very complex techniques written on i-"

Before he could finish leaving the boy with his words of caution, Iruka found himself tackled into a hug by the excitable Genin.

"Oh thank you Iruka-Sensei! Thank you, thank you, thank you! This'll be great!"

The Chunin was flustered by the display of affection, but over the years, he'd learned to just expect this kind of behavior from Naruto. Thus, he resorted to a pat on the back. Soon, the blonde dropped the embrace, taking the scroll out of the older man's outstretched hand. He looked at it like some precious gem, with to be fair, it might as well have been.

"Right, well, go meet with your team, Naruto. Oh! And try not to tell anybody about that scroll."

Naruto nodded his head frantically before running off with a smile. As the boy vanished through the door of the classroom to go find his teammates, Iruka couldn't help but grow a smile of his own, scratching his head.

_'I expect great things from you, Naruto; don't let Hokage-Sama or I down, okay?'_

* * *

After rushing outside, the scroll in his jacket pocket, Naruto quickly spotted Kiba and Hinata standing near a tree on the other side of the courtyard. The two appeared to already be engaged in conversation, but despite this, the blonde barged in with all the subtlety of a rhino.

"Heya Hinata! What's up, dog breath?"

Hinata's eyes widened at her crush's sudden appearance, whatever words she'd been speaking quickly vanishing into thin air. Akamaru let a disdainful whimper out from under Kiba's jacket while the Inuzuka himself grit his teeth at the sound of his rather hated nickname.

"Way to butt in, Naruto. Y'know, just cause we're on a team doesn't mean I won't kick your ass, dunce."

Naruto's temper flared up at that remark; the idea that he could lose a fight to _Kiba_ of all people was insulting... even if results showed that it wasn't such an uncommon occurrence.

"Oh!? Try me, mutt-brain!"

Hinata took note of the conflict bubbling up between her new teammates and did her best to calm both boys down, letting her gaze evade the blonde's figure for fear of sporting a telltale blush.

"K-Kiba-San, N-Naruto-San, we shouldn't start our time as teammates by fighting with one another, d-don't you think?"

After giving the excitable Genin a brief glare, Kiba exhaled dramatically, clearly having been more than ready to stay true to his words.

"Awe fine, you're probably right...but only if he agrees to drop the stupid nicknames!"

Naruto shrugged, happy to acquiesce to the dark-haired boy's request under a single condition of his own.

"Deal; but only if you stop calling me a dunce."

Kiba seemed to act as if he was struggling with his answer, doing so rather dramatically, although eventually, he dropped the histrionics and accepted the blonde's proposal.

"Okay, but only for as long as you keep your end of the bargain."

Then, without any indication from the other, both boys extended their hands and shook on it, taking the agreement perhaps a tad _too_ seriously. Hinata, who had been observing silently as she tended to, felt inclined to stifle a laugh at the display, still unused to her new teammates' sure-to-be regular displays of boneheaded masculinity. Of course, she was pulled out of her happy little isolated corner when Naruto turned to her next and spoke to her directly.

"So, Hinata, know any good places for lunch around here?"

It was such a simple gesture, but it still earned a jump from the Hyuuga heiress. Despite this, Hinata quickly replied, managing to stutter out a reply, although there was little chance she wasn't blushing anymore.

"U-um, I'm a-afraid not, N-Naruto-San, my father doesn't usually allow me out into t-town alone, although he t-told me that changed s-starting last night when I r-received my hitai-ite."

Naruto shrugged yet again, a grin permeating his features as he replied cheerfully.

"Alrighty then! There's this great ramen place called Ichiraku's, and I'm sure you guys'll love it. We gotta go quick though, otherwise we won't make it back in time to meet our sensei!"

Kiba raised his eyebrows, having eaten at Ichiraku's before but not having suspected the blonde to have had good taste in fast food.

"Sounds good to me; Hinata, you up for it?"

The girl simply nodded and squeaked out just a few words before retreating back into her little social bubble.

"Yes; I'm sure a Jounin like our s-sensei will be very punctual, so something fast sounds g-good."

And just like that, the newly formed Team 7 was off.

* * *

It had been two hours. _Two freakin' hours,_ since their sensei had been supposed to show up. At first, all three teammates had been optimistic towards the prospect of meeting such an elite ninja. After all, the instructors they'd had at the academy had been Chunin; who knew what a _Jounin_ could do? It was exciting, is the point. Despite this though, that same optimism surely waned along with the passage of time. First, half an hour had passed. Then, another, and now, two hours. To say the least, it was disappointing.

Naruto was the most vocal about his annoyance at the situation, droning out from his place slumped over his desk, Hinata to one side of him and Kiba to the other.

"Jeez, you'd think that somebody who's supposed to be a super-awesome ninja would at least show up on _time_."

Kiba simply nodded, content to wallow in his own annoyance at the situation. On the other hand, Hinata, who had been listening to this kind of talk for a good while now, did her best to quell the blonde's reservations towards their new teacher, although she doubted she was helping much with her reserved tone and admittedly dropping levels of happiness surrounding the current situation.

"I-it's okay Naruto-San, I'm sure our new sensei had something v-very important to do."

Naruto simply shot the girl a questioning look before stating his mind, clearly already having set his opinion of their would-be teacher in stone.

"We're his _students_ Hinata, what else could be more important?"

Kiba finally spoke up, clearly siding with Naruto.

"I agree with Naruto. Hinata, if he can't bother with arriving on time, what kind of a sensei is he? He sounds like a real jackass if you ask me."

"I'm glad I've made such a good first impression."

All three Genin practically leaped out of their seats, each with a girlish yelp. Crouching in front of them on the desk below them was a tall, silver-haired man wearing a face mask and his hitai-ite as an eye patch. Sporting what looked like a smile and a peace sign, the man spoke again, this time without the clear sarcasm of his first statement.

"Yo. I'm Kakashi, your sensei starting from today."

Hinata and Naruto gulped, still reeling from the surprise of Kakashi's sudden appearance. Kiba, however, was a tad less reserved, and immediately rose to his feet with a raised voice.

"Hey! I know you! You're that guy my sister keeps talking about, saying that you're the only person outside of my clan who's allowed on serious tracking missions! You can summon dogs, can't you?"

Kakashi raised his one visible eyebrow, mildly surprised at the thought of somebody this young knowing anything about him. Glancing down at the small white dog tucked into the boy's jacket, he quickly surmised that he must be the Inuzuka that his files had mentioned.

"You're Hana's little brother then? Good ninja, your sister. Doesn't like me much though."

Kiba replied by raising an accusatory finger in the Jounin's direction.

"That's because she says you're a damn pervert!"

Kakashi practically sweat-dropped, sighing at thought of having been exposed in such a manner.

_'My reputation proceeds me, I see.'_

Hinata was all but blue at this point, and Naruto was currently in the process methodically banging his head against the desk. Who WAS this guy?!

* * *

Team 7 were now situated atop the academy's roof at Kakashi's request, and were in the process of answering a few questions for the older shinobi.

"Alright. I'd like you all to tell me your names, likes, dislikes, and goals."

Naruto's hand shot up first with all the glee of a five-year old trying to get called on in class.

"Oh! Me! Me! Me! Pick me!"

Kakashi glanced over in the blonde's direction and laughed internally.

_'He's certainly more like his mother than his father.'_

"Alright. Go ahead."

Naruto responded in a prideful tone, always one to make grand statements.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki; I like ramen, learning new jutsu, and Iruka-Sensei! I don't like stuck up Uchiha goth boys, or people who look down on me for who I am. Last but not least, my goal is to become the greatest Hokage the village has ever seen!"

Kakashi tilted his head in contemplation while Kiba nearly broke down laughing, his brain caught somewhere between the blonde's goal of being Hokage and his referring to the Uchiha as a goth boy.

"Pfft... you aren't wrong about that... friggin' Sasuke..."

Kakashi then interjected on the point of the boy's goal, having more than a few opinions on the matter having been the student of a former Hokage. That said, he reserved the majority of his thoughts for a later time; he could settle for a simple observation at the moment.

"That's a very lofty goal Naruto. Alright, who's next?"

Hinata suddenly interjected, albeit quietly, with a good point.

"Um... K-Kakashi-Sensei, shouldn't you tell us a bit about yourself?"

Kakashi once again tilted his head, this time replying with a lackadaisical tone and an eye-smile, clearly intent on avoiding the question.

"Right well, my name is Kakashi Hatake, I like and dislike several things, and my goals are none of your concern!"

Even Hinata sighed dramatically at that statement, but before either of the two boys could raise a fuss, she took up the Jounin's earlier request.

"My name is Hinata Hyuuga, and I dislike v-very few things. I-I like sweet things, reading, and... e-energetic people."

The heiress tried and failed to stifle a flush of red at the last few words, shooting a glare in her favorite blonde Genin's direction, although he was none the wiser. This earned her an inquisitive gaze from Kakashi for a moment.

_'Maybe they aren't too dissimilar from my old team after all... this could actually be fun.'_

The older ninja then acted as if he'd seen nothing and moved on.

"Good; and last but not least-"

Kiba picked up right where his new teacher left off, having been eagerly awaiting his turn.

"Alright! I'm Kiba Inuzuka, and I like dogs, eating, and hunting in my spare time. I dislike any food I can't chew and, I'll side with Naruto on this one; stuck up Uchiha goth boys. My goal is to be the village's greatest Hunter-Nin!"

Kakashi nodded, satisfied with his team's answers.

_'Although they have no love for the last Uchiha it seems.'_

"Right, well, that should do it for today. However, I have one more thing to tell you. While you all may have graduated, you are not all truly Genin yet."

Each of the three new shinobi reacted accordingly, with the most vocal, of course, being Naruto.

"Hey, what the hell! What was the point of that whole damn test then!?"

Kakashi shrugged before answering, having already gotten used to this reaction from previous batches of graduates.

"That test is administered simply to see if you are ready to become Genin. In reality, only 33% of the 27 graduates from your class will go on to become full-fledged shinobi this year. This is because each Jounin is required to give their team a test; in my case, you three will be showing up to training ground three tomorrow at 8 AM."

Kiba was the next to react vocally.

"Oh come on, 8 AM? Are you joking?"

Kakashi shook his head while turning to leap away, although he left the three new ninja with some parting words.

"Not in the slightest. And by the way; don't bother with breakfast. I wouldn't want you to get sick."

With that, the silver-haired shinobi vanished, leaving the whole of Team 7 confused and oddly disappointed more than anything. That said, there was still an underlying excitement brewing in each of them; tomorrow they'd get the opportunity to show off what they could really do.

Naruto especially wasn't opposed to the idea, silently patting the scroll in his jacket pocket as he looked forward to another sleepless night. He'd mastered something off of that Forbidden-Scroll-Thingy in a few hours, after all; how hard could learning whatever was on this thing be?

_'Kakashi-Sensei, Kiba, Hinata... get ready to be surprised!'_

* * *

Hiruzen silently observed the blonde through his window that night, having settled up all the paperwork for the day. He could immediately tell how hard-working the child was when the first thing the boy started doing upon getting home, instead of heating up his usual cup of ramen, was read the scroll he'd given him. There were some complex techniques on there, but the old shinobi had no doubt that the blonde could master them with enough time and dedication.

_'You might well be the Hokage some day, Naruto; it would be rather fitting, following in your father's footsteps.'_

To say the least, the Sandaime was excited to see how things would turn out with the boy and his generation of shinobi.

* * *

**A/N: **Alrighty! What did you all think! Let me know with a review and a favorite, and follow the story if you want to be notified whenever I upload a new chapter! Again, please do review and leave feedback, as I try to listen to you all as much as possible when it comes to improving my work! Have a good night, and see you next time.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **So, I know this is literally MONTHS late, but... 100 follows? On chapter one? Literally how. Okay, you guys want it, so you'll get it (:

**Disclaimer: **Kishimoto owns my asshole.

* * *

All three of the freshly-minted (almost) Genin showed up at 8:00 AM, each too nervous to talk to the others, although each out of different reasoning.

Kiba had slept in, earning him a scream from his mother, who had an ability to rather immediately command respect from her son provided she used enough volume. Thus, grabbing Akamaru by the scruff of the neck, Kiba had darted to the training ground. Of course, once he arrived there, he'd promptly grumbled about 'needing to catch up on some sleep' and having 'not eaten enough'.

Hinata was, of course, nervous because she had to pass whatever test Kakashi-Sensei was about to administer for the sake of her very livelihood. Should she fail today's trials, her father would surely disown her and she would likely be released into either the Branch Family or removed from the clan entirely. Gulping, a bead of sweat dripped down her nervous features as she awaited her new teacher's arrival.

Finally, Naruto was jumpy and excited to show off what he'd learned last night, although still a little on edge at the idea of talking to people from his class who, with only a few exceptions, he'd not really interacted with all too much. Kiba was a bit of an asshole, but he and Naruto got on well enough through their shared love of insulting the other. Hinata, on the other hand, was shy...and cute? He didn't know very much about her, but was happy to have somebody who had actually never shown any aggression towards him on his team. Regardless though, there was no denying that his features were all smiles and sunshine at the moment. This was the first step towards his dream, and with what he'd learned last night ready to be put into action, there was no stopping the blonde's unshakable grin.

Kiba, from his place on the grass, groggily made fun of the excitable shinobi's features, as one would expect.

"...eh, Naruto, whatcha so happy about? Finally figure out how to spell your own name last night or something?"

Too happy to care, Naruto simply jabbed his foot into the boy's stomach, earning a grunt from the dog-loving ninja. Hinata, witnessing this, tried her best to diffuse the conflict, as minor as it was.

"N-Naruto... don't hit Kiba, he's on our team."

Naruto sighed, finally breaking his smile, and grumbled something that sounded like an apology in response, but after that, Kiba nor Hinata said nothing further.

And for the next two hours, that was all that happened. Only at around 10:00 AM did Kakashi finally show up, nervously rubbing the back of his head as if he'd been caught with his hand in the cookie jar after his bedtime. Kiba, immediately smelling his sensei's presence before he could even see him from his place on the grass, shot up to his feet, Akamaru whining from within his jacket at the disturbance. Pointing an accusing finger in his teacher's direction, the brown-haired boy yelled a multitude of expletives at the man's tardiness.

"There you are, you bastard! What took you so long!? We've been here for fucking hours!"

Despite this, as soon as the words left his mouth, Kiba found that the man he was pointing at was nowhere to be found. That was until he heard the Jounin's voice from behind him, earning a jump from the Inuzuka and his dog, as well as the two other Genin, who were astonished by how fast their teacher was.

"Ne, Kiba; sorry everybody, I got caught up helping this little old lady cross the street-"

This time, it was Naruto's turn to be obnoxious, although well within his rights to be so. Interrupting his teacher, he followed up on Kiba's point, much to the older Shinobi's chagrin.

"Hold on! How does it take two HOURS to help a lady across the street!? Liar! You just wanted some extra sleep!"

Sighing, Kakashi, looked in Hinata's direction for help, hoping that the most sensible of his new brats would offer at least some support to his admittedly flawed case. Unfortunately, even the Hyuuga was dissatisfied with her teacher's delayed appearance, although she stated it in a far more respectful way than her male comrades had.

"N-Naruto and K-Kiba are right, K-Kakashi-Sensei... you shouldn't show up l-late. It sets a bad example for us..."

Sweat dropping, Kakashi shrugged, admitting defeat over this little issue.

"Right, right. Sorry. Anyway, we have a test to get to, so lets get on with it."

Immediately following this, the silver-haired man pulled out a pair of bells, earning the attention of all of his subordinates.

"These bells represent you passing or failing today's test. I will be functioning as your opponent today; your goal is to get the bells from me by any means necessary. Whoever gets a bell passes, and whoever doesn't get one is sent back to the academy. Am I clear?"

Kiba and Naruto's jaws dropped at this statement, each ready to burst with complaints at this statement, but Hinata interjected with some wisdom Kakashi hadn't expected.

"Um...but Kakashi-Sensei, t-there are no two man Genin teams; w-wouldn't it be impossible to just pass two people?"

This immediately calmed the two boys down and earned yet another sigh from the Jounin. Shaking his head while trying to come up with some excuse, Kakashi decided it was best to just avoid answering the smart girl's statement.

"Sharp of you to notice that, Hinata, but I can't offer you an answer. All I will say is this. Look underneath the underneath; that is what Shinobi must do. Anyway, with all that said, let's get started! I'll give you all a minute to hide yourselves."

* * *

As soon as the words left his mouth, Kakashi vanished with a puff of smoke, reappearing about ten meters forwards in the center of the training ground. Shaking their heads to process what had just happened, the three genin soon set off backwards into the brush surrounding the clearing in which their teacher stood. A minute soon passed, and by that time, all three were well hidden. Looking at one another, Hinata was, oddly enough, the first to speak.

"I...I think we should attack him as a team. H-he's much stronger than any of us alone, and it doesn't make sense that he'd want only two of us to pass."

Naruto offered the girl a glance and prepared to reply in unusual agreement, but Kiba instead stood up and began to march out of the brush. The blonde shinobi called out after his teammate, but to no avail.

"Kiba! Wait! Where are you going, mutt-breath!? We should listen to Hinata!"

The brown-haired boy simply shrugged before offering a toothy grin.

"Maybe she's right, but I want to test him out myself. Plus, it's not like you'd be any use, _Naruto_. I think he's all talk, ain't that right Akamaru?"

The small dog yipped in response as Kiba lifted him out of his jacket and placed him on the ground. Hinata let out a sigh as Naruto had to restrain himself from attacking his teammate. He was far from the sharpest knife in the drawer, but even the blonde knew attacking his teacher alone was a dumb idea. He was confident, but something about his teammates lended themselves to being trusted; Hinata especially.

_She seems smart. I like that._

Regardless though, Kiba left the brush soon after, coming into view of the silver-haired Jounin as he slowly approached the older shinobi. Kakashi spoke to himself, raising an eyebrow at the Inuzuka's questionable decision.

"Oh? Alright then, we'll see how this goes."

Then, with no fanfare, Kakashi whipped out an orange book which drew a roll of the eyes from Naruto, who knew it all too well from the old man's perverse habits, but also elicited an excited yell from Kiba.

"Wait, you read Icha-Icha as well!? That's awesome! Why now though, Kakashi-Sensei?"

Kakashi paled. His student KNEW Icha-Icha!? Pocketing the book once more as if he was trying to hide something he'd stolen, Kakashi simply hid his embarrassment as he directed the Genin's attention elsewhere.

"Kiba, didn't you call ME a pervert yesterday? Oh nevermind. Show me what you've got."

Gritting his teeth, the Inuzuka took a stance on all fours which, while confusing Hinata and Naruto, was a form of Taijutsu that Kakashi was familiar with. Years as an ANBU had allowed him knowledge of the Inuzuka clan's techniques more-so than any of the other clans of the village, as they were tracking specialists. Regardless though, the Jounin couldn't help but smile under his mask at the boy's tenacious display of his family's abilities. With a shout, Kiba announced his technique.

"Inuzuka Style: Man-Beast Clone!"

Immediately, Akamaru erupted in a poof of smoke, which quickly faded revealing a transformed dog who had taken the shape of his owner. The duo then launched themselves at Kakashi, leaping towards him with tremendous speed as each aimed to claw at a different side of the Jounin. Sighing, Kakashi lazily ducked beneath the attack as both attackers flew over him, skidding to a halt on the grass as they landed. Leaving no time to comment though, the Inuzuka and his dog charged once more, this time circling the shinobi before leaping inwards, one with a dash aimed to take out the Jounin's legs, and another aiming to strike him in the head with a flying right-legged round-house kick.

To both Akamaru and Kiba's surprise, Kakashi spun around, sweeping the first Kiba's legs out from under him as he charged, following it up with a right legged kick to the head which knocked him back several feet. Then, in rapid response to the attack from the air, the Jounin grabbed Akamaru's leg with his left hand before tossing him to the side with no effort whatsoever.

Now lying on the ground side by side, Kiba offered his hound a glance before speaking to him with a devious glint in his eye.

"Akamaru, let's try what we were practicing last night, okay?"

Immediately, the dog-turned-boy nodded, darting to the right of the Jounin while Kiba ran to the left. This earned an intrigued glance from Kakashi, but he had no expectations for this move. He even audibly voiced his concerns, seeing as whatever the duo had planned looked a lot like the maneuver they had just tried and failed to pull off.

"Kiba, are you sure that's a good idea? You tried this before and it didn't go so well."

Saying nothing, the Genin simply smirked before calling out to Akamaru.

"Now! Gatsuga - Fang Over Fang!"

Immediately, both figures charged forwards, but soon leapt and began to spin. From the brush, Naruto's eyes widened at the sight in front of him.

"Wow... Kiba and that dog look like drills! That's crazy, no way can Kakashi-Sensei block that!"

Hinata nodded as an affirmation of her own surprise.

Kakashi, meanwhile, knew exactly what techinque this was, but was surprised Kiba could pull it off. Most Genin Inuzukas were unable to use the Fang Over Fang as they lacked the connection with their Ninken, but it appeared at least one of his team members was quite skilled. Still, that wouldn't make much of a difference.

_Kiba's spinning to the left and his dog is spinning to the right... okay. _

As the two drills rapidly approached the silver-haired man, he stood perfectly still, waiting until the very last second to respond. Then, as the attack was within a few inches of him, he snapped into action. With a right handed punched downwards into the drill on his right side, and a kick upwards towards the drill on his right, the rotation of each attacker stopped immediately, smashing full force into Kakashi's counter as they were knocked backwards, both bruised and bleeding at the sheer power of the response.

"You two work well together, but you simply don't have enough power to take me out alone, Kiba-"

Stopping his little speech, Kakashi sidestepped a pair of shuriken which flew forwards from the brush, both of which landed behind him, one on either side of his body. He paid them no mind, although he did offer an eye smile at the trap the others had tried to set for him.

Gritting his teeth, Kiba glanced in the direction in which his teammates were hiding, only to realize neither was there. Kakashi followed the boy's eyes with a calculated glance, but his visible eye widened as soon as he realized that both of his other students were now missing. Only then did he see the smirk on Kiba's face, alerting him to danger. He had no time to react to what came next. From behind him, the silver-haired Jounin heard a feminine voice, calling out an attack.

"Gentle Fist: Hakke Kushō!"

Only just managing to turn around before the wave of air crashed into his chest, Kakashi slid backwards several feet and grunted as his eyes met with those of an unsteady, if determined Hyuuga heiress. Then, only adding to his surprise, the second shuriken, now beneath his feet, exploded in a puff of smoke, revealing an orange-clad Naruto with a fist aimed straight at his face. As the blow made contact, Kakashi reeled while he fell to the ground, with things finally looking as if they'd turned around for the Genin. Kiba even cheered at the sight of the falling Jounin.

That was until said Jounin vanished in a puff of smoke, replacing himself with a log. Upon landing from his attack, Naruto cursed the more experienced shinobi.

"Damn! We almost had him."

Kiba stifled a laugh at this statement, but nodded in agreement.

"Hate to say it Naruto, but even if you did steal my thunder a little, that was a pretty cool little play. You too, Hinata."

In response, Naruto offered a cheesy grin while Hinata only reddened, unsure how to accept praise. The blonde was the next to speak, as he looked to the right, revealing Kakashi standing about ten meters away as if nothing had happened, flipping through his dirty orange book.

"We need to attack him as a team again. Kiba, is Akamaru still okay to fight?"

Looking to the ground, Kiba saw that Akamaru was lying on the ground, no longer in his transformed state. Rushing to his dog, Kiba quickly picked him up and placed him inside his jacket, where the hound was clearly more comfortable. Trying to reassure the Ninken, the Inuzuka spoke softly before turning back to Naruto.

"It's alright Akamaru, you've helped plenty. I think I'll manage by myself, Naruto. So, what's the plan?"

Gesturing for Hinata to come closer, the three Genin huddled as Naruto began to speak.

"So...I learned this new technique last night-"

* * *

At his distance, Kakashi couldn't hear his subordinates talking, but he did eye them with curiosity as they huddled, formulating a plan. The silver-haired man stood at the edge of a dense forest, one he had initially planned to separate the group in, but it appeared they had already caught on to the true nature of the test, if unintentionally.

_They're already working phenomenally as a team; if I'm being entirely honest, I should pass them based on that display alone, but I want to see what else they have in store for me. A Hyuuga who can use the Air Palm and an Inuzuka who can use Gatsuga; they're impressive for their age. I especially want to see what you can do though, Naruto..._

Kakashi's eye fell upon the blonde-haired Genin.

_I wonder if you've taken after your old man._

* * *

A few minutes later, and Kakashi had yet to move, much to the happiness of the three Genin. Naruto glanced in Hinata's direction and nodded. In response, the Hyuuga girl nodded back, determined to show that she was a worthy ninja not only to her father, but to Naruto as well. She then ran to the right, darting towards the woods several meters away from the older shinobi who lay at said wood's edge. Kiba spoke with a hint of excitement in his voice as he prepared to run the opposite direction.

"If this works Naruto, I'm going to be shocked, but pretty fucking excited too. Let's see what you've got."

The blonde nodded and offered a thumbs up.

"Trust me, I won't let you down, dog boy."

Rolling his eyes, Kiba then ran off to the left, sprinting into the woods much as Hinata had. This earned an inquisitive look from Kakashi.

_I wonder what they're planning._

The Jounin's eyes then returned to Naruto. For a moment, the boy stood still, but then he made a single handseal. Even from this distance, Kakashi recognized it, and his visible eye widened at the sight. He'd expected something, but this? This was impressive.

_Well Minato, he's just as flashy as you were._

Standing in front of Kakashi was what looked like at least 500 shadow clones, all of whom had begun to charge straight in his direction. Cracking his neck, the Jounin drew a pair of Kunai before darting forwards, ready to take the army on by himself. The other two could wait; this had just gotten interesting.

Upon making impact with the orange wave, Kakashi immediately began cutting through the mass with ease, with anybody entering a radius of about a foot from his position vanishing with a puff of smoke almost instantly as the Jounin's hands flickered from place to place. Had there been a thousand clones, he may have taken a hit eventually, but five hundred? He had enough stamina for this, surely.

_Fifteen...sixteen...seventeen..._

But, about fifty clones in, Kakashi was interrupted by the hairs on the back of his neck sticking up. Immediately, stepped to the side, as a silently casted Air Palm blasted past him and took out two clones. Turning his neck just for a split second, he saw Hinata once again, her Byakugan active with her palm extended. Despite this, he didn't have time to worry about that, as the clone army hadn't relented. Then, yet again, the Jounin was broken out of his deadly reverie by a call from Naruto, somewhere within the mass of...other Narutos.

"Kiba, now!"

Looking behind him instinctively, it was only when he saw nothing that Kakashi knew he had made a mistake. Cursing internally, the man leapt upwards just in time to avoid the one-man _Tsuga_ attack that cut through the crowd of Naruto clones straight over where he had just been. But, now the Jounin was at a disadvantage. He was in the air with no maneuverability; it was the one place he struggled to control during a fight. That said, he didn't think that his students had anything beyond ninja weapons that they could attack him with at this distance either.

How wrong he was. One by one, the shadow clones began to leap into the air around him, but none moved to attack him; they were simply trying to get as close as possible. Only moments before the attack occurred did Kakashi hear the command from the original Naruto, by which time it was too late.

"Kage Bunshin No Bakuhatsu!"

In a single sweep, every shadow clone in the sky exploded in a deafening display of fireworks, the shockwave of which nearly blew the three Genin off of their feet. Kiba was the first to speak.

"Great job Naruto, we got him!"

The blonde in question was panting at the exertion of making 500 clones explode at once, but silently offered a thank you to both Kiba and the Sandaime, whose scroll had taught him that technique. Even Hinata ran to Naruto to congratulate him on his idea's success, although her congratulations was less boisterous.

"Good job...N-Naruto-Kun-"

At that, all the Genin returned their focus to the cloud above them, which was quickly dissipating. Naruto finally spoke at this point, managing to get back to his feet.

"...You guys don't think we killed him right?"

The reply to that question came in the form of a hand on Naruto's shoulder a kunai held to his throat, immediately setting all three Genin on edge. Behind them now stood Kakashi, who, despite several burn marks on his vest and even a ripped sleeve with a bleeding scrape along the right arm, seemed unfazed.

"I'm harder to kill than that, Naruto."

A moment of silence passed as all four shinobi stared at one another, deadlocked at the sight of the kunai against Naruto's throat. Only, when Kakashi smiled and removed the kunai did they all relax.

"Right well, this should be obvious, but you all pass! That was an impressive display, Naruto. And excellent ambush, Kiba and Hinata."

Immediately, all three Genin burst out into cheers, with Naruto offering Kiba a high five and the same to Hinata, who nearly fainted at the very thought of touching Naruto. A few seconds later though, Kiba turned to his new Sensei and asked the question on all of their minds.

"What about the bells though, Kakashi-Sensei?"

Scratching the back of his head, Kakashi replied, almost guilty to be conceding the secret to his test.

"The bells are just a decoy, as Hinata over there noticed. You guys worked together as a team to take me down, which is the point. That's rare among people as young as you, so be proud of yourselves. Being a strong shinobi is important, and I'm proud to say all of you are strong shinobi for your age, but what is more important is valuing your comrades. Those who don't follow the rules are scum, but those who abandon their friends because of them are even worse. I'm happy to see that you all know that."

Naruto nodded, sporting a grin that looked shockingly like one shared by a comrade of Kakashi's from his youth.

"Of course, Kakashi-Sensei! If I'm gonna be Hokage, I have to help my fellow shinobi!"

Instead of replying, Kakashi simply offered a smile while nodding.

_He's not just like you, Minato... he reminds me of Obito too._

Breaking the atmosphere finally, Kakashi saluted the group before offering his farewell.

"Well; our first day as a team starts tomorrow. We'll meet here for training at 10:00 AM and then at noon we'll all go to Hokage Tower to collect our first mission. I'll see you all then."

At that, the Jounin vanished as he had earlier; with a puff of smoke.

Seconds after the man left, all three Genin exhaled massive sighs of relief. Then, better yet, Naruto proposed a celebration.

"So, anybody for ramen to celebrate?"

Kiba was the first to reply.

"Hah, I'd love to, but I should bring Akamaru home to make sure he's alright. See you tomorrow, dunce."

Naruto simply stuck his tongue out at the Inuzuka in response. Then, looking to Hinata, Naruto sighed.

"Well, guess it's just you and me then, Hinata!"

And finally, after every event of the long day so far, the Hyuuga gave in and fainted.

* * *

**A/N: **Sorry this took so fucking long! I'm very happy with how it turned out, and I hope you all enjoyed what I gave Naruto. On a ninjutsu scroll, it makes sense that one of the techniques Sarutobi would give Naruto would be one to build upon his already present foundation. Anywho, this'll be getting updated much quicker now. Next time, we'll be getting a little bit of Naruhina! Please favorite, follow, and leave a review if you have any comments or suggestions! Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **As promised, here's some Naruhina, with a few unconventional aspects; I find Hinata's anxiety is often ignored in favor of rushing to a confession. That will not be the case here; I'm trying to take the best of canon Hinata and work it into the fic. On another note, this chapter will, again, feature some combat, but I'll leave it at that till the end where I explain my motivations. Please enjoy, and remember to follow, review, and favorite! Every little bit helps. Oh and just a warning; Marijuana appears in this chapter. If you have a problem with that, please don't read.

* * *

By the time she came to, Hinata had been passed out for nearly an hour, and Naruto had figured it would be a good idea to make sure she was okay. Kiba, however, had left about five minutes in, wishing Naruto luck. He wasn't really sure what he needed luck for, but then, Kiba tended to say stupid things quite often, so the blonde didn't see it as anything out of the ordinary. Regardless, when she woke up, the Hyuuga's first sight was a blonde leaning straight over her, poking her forehead as if trying to stir a sleeping animal.

"Hinata? You awake?"

Her eyes fluttering, Hinata shot up with a start, her cheeks red and her eyes evading meeting Naruto's for fear of collapsing again. Embarrassed that she'd passed out, Hinata tried to make herself seem a little less pathetic.

"Ah! U-um... sorry, N-Naruto-Kun. I didn't mean to pass out, I was just t-tired I think..."

Scratching the back of his head, the blonde gave the Hyuuga a dumb smile that made her heart melt as he enthusiastically responded in kind.

"Oh, no problem! Kakashi-Sensei got here late, so I get what you mean. Can you believe it? Eight in the morning? The guy's _insane!_ Although, I didn't plan on getting any sleep last night in the first place, so I guess it isn't his fault."

Being used to waking up at 5:00 AM to train with her father prior to him declaring her a lost cause, Hinata had to stifle a laugh at the thought of 8:00 AM being early, but was more interested in why Naruto had avoided sleeping. Not wanting to pry, the Hyuuga girl tried to preface her words with an apology, something her father had stated was a bad habit. She had a lot of those, in his eyes.

"Not to be r-rude, but w-why didn't you sleep last night, Naruto-Kun?"

Ignorant to the girl's obvious nervousness about the question, Naruto simply gave her an excited look as he began to explain what he'd been up to all night.

"Oh! Well, I did a lot of stuff! I-"

Suddenly, the blonde moved closer and lowered his voice, as if afraid of revealing a dark secret. Hinata gulped.

"-I've been learning stuff from this scroll the old man gave to me; like that clone explosion I pulled off today."

THAT was his dark secret? Training via a gift from the Third Hokage? Hinata's eyes widened and this time, she actually couldn't stop herself from laughing. At the sound of the noise, Naruto moved to raise a complaint at the girl's laughter, but instead, he stopped upon noticing the look on her face.

For a moment, the boy didn't even realize he was staring. Unfortunately for the perpetually under-confident Hyuuga, the expression broke before she turned to look at the boy, who only then managed to voice his reaction to her laughter.

"H-hey! Don't laugh; I wasn't supposed to tell anybody, but y'know, since you're on my team and all I figured that the old man wouldn't mind."

At that, Hinata nodded and stopped laughing, although now, instead of returning to the usually nervous features which sat upon her face, she looked happy, sporting a soft smile and a relaxed demeanor.

For once, Hinata Hyuuga was comfortable around Naruto.

After the moment passed, she spoke again, changing her tone to one more in line with the questions the blonde's statements had raised.

"Wait... N-Naruto, did you learn that technique just last night?"

Unaware of how impressive the feat he was admitting to truly was, the boy simply nodded his head excitedly before further explaining his exploits last night.

"Oh yeah, I didn't just learn that one though! I taught myself two others. I think there were...uh...five, on the scroll? So yeah, I learned three! Only that one I used earlier had to do with clones though, and they're my best jutsu."

At the end of his sentence, Naruto tapered off into a slight sound of disappointment, as if he found his, in her eyes, _tremendous_ accomplishment.

"N-Naruto-Kun, learning three techniques in one night is amazing, you m-must be very talented."

Perking up at this statement, Naruto shot Hinata a smile while replying.

"Me? Nah, I'm no good at school like you, Hinata, I guess I just pick things up quick is all."

Deciding not to push any further, the Hyuuga simply nodded before the blonde continued.

"Anyway, I was going to ask if you wanted to come get some ramen? I'm starving!"

Immediately, Hinata reddened. This had been the same question that had made her faint last time, but this time, she was determined to stay conscious and reply. Thus, with tremendous effort and a pair of fluttering eyelids, she managed to stutter out a reply while pressing her fingers together.

"O-Oh, I'd l-love to, Naruto-Kun, but m-my father expected me h-home as soon as we finished t-training. H-he'll want to know that w-we passed."

Frowning, Naruto let out an exaggerated sigh, something which simultaneously made Hinata feel rather sad but also encouraged by the prospect that he'd care about missing out on time with her.

"Awe, damn! Okay, next time though, for sure!"

Her eyes widening, Hinata had to force herself to look away to hide the beam spread across her face. Instead, she quietly replied, leaving Naruto with a few words that she hoped would suffice.

"O-Okay. Next time it is N-Naruto-Kun."

And with that, the Hyuuga ran off as quickly as she could manage.

_I...did he just ask me out? No, surely not... Naruto-Kun is just being friendly is all._

And to her credit, she wasn't wrong; Naruto had initially only meant to bring friends along to ramen with him. He was only just now getting to experience social interaction with his teammates, and had wanted to spend more time with them. But, as Hinata left, a certain feeling arose within him. He wasn't quite able to name the heat that was pounding throughout his chest, but it felt interesting.

_I'll talk to Hinata again tomorrow_, he thought to himself. She seemed fun.

* * *

Upon getting home, Hinata was greeting by her father, who wore a stern visage upon his face. Such was a frequent occurrence when the heiress arrived home late, and even by her relaxed predictions on her arrival time earlier in the day, she'd gotten back close to 1:00 PM, which was a whole half hour after she'd said she would be home. To most parents, thirty minutes meant nothing.

Hiashi Hyuuga was not most parents.

Immediately, the man broke into a cold statement; simple and clear. Par for the course.

"Hinata. Come to my study."

Without another word, she did as she was told, following her father's back as he led her to the study in a reclusive part of the clan compound. One did not disobey Hiashi Hyuuga. Of course, while many children would say they obey their parents because they were, well, just that, their parents, Hinata obeyed her father because she feared him. Not feared the man himself, but rather, feared disappointing him, which in her eyes, was the only thing she was good at.

However, as she sat down across from him inside his study, she found herself holding on to a glimmer of hope.

_Maybe... father will be happy that I passed. Maybe._

Hiashi sat, waiting for his daughter to speak.

After a few seconds passed, she broke the silence.

"I-I...my team and I passed Kakashi-Sensei's test, f-father."

His gaze remaining steadfast, Hiashi eyed his daughter for a brief moment before replying, his voice betraying no emotion.

"Good."

After another pause, the man spoke again.

"You may not understand this, Hinata, but while such an accomplishment would hardly be worth praise under most circumstances, but Kakashi Hatake has never passed a Genin squad. You have come first, as all Hyuuga should."

And yet another pause. This time, the words seemed more strained, especially coming from the stone-faced leader of the Hyuuga clan.

"Tomorrow we will train at dawn until breakfast, after which we will train until you are called to meet with your team, am I clear?"

Her eyes widening, Hinata nodded her head with something between forced enthusiasm and genuine excitement. Her father hadn't trained her for a long time; this was a good sign. As good as she could have hoped for.

Then, without ceremony, Hiashi stood up and moved to the door, looking as if he would leave without another word. However, the imposing man stopped in the doorway, this time to deliver another set of words, ones which shocked Hinata.

"And Hinata? Good job. Your father is proud of you."

Unsure of what else to say, Hinata spoke the first thing that came to her mind.

"T-thank you, father."

Looking back, Hiashi nodded his head before leaving.

"Work on that stutter. It's unseemly."

Sighing, Hinata smiled to herself uneasily.

"Yes, f-father."

And that was the last time Hinata saw her father that day.

* * *

Kakashi appeared outside the Inuzuka compound as night fell, waiting outside the kennel as he'd been instructed to. Glancing down at his wrist, he read the time. 9:00 PM, on the dot. There was a certain irony to this situation. For once, the silver-haired Jounin had arrived somewhere on time, and for the next fifteen minutes, it looked like he was about to be stood up. It was only just as he was pulling out his Icha-Icha that a figure emerged from inside the building, calling out in a feminine voice with a vaguely accusatory, if playful tone.

"You know, for my brother's Sensei, you're not much of a paragon of virtue, Kakashi."

Glancing up, Kakashi stuffed the book into his back pocket as he scratched his head while managing a reply.

"I was actually just about to toss that book-"

Approaching him, the woman placed a finger to his mask-covered lips, silencing the man immediately.

"Please, your excuses are wasted on me. That said, it was pretty funny when he told mom that his Sensei read the same books he did over dinner. He was in for one hell of an ass-whooping, as I'm sure you are if she sees you around here."

Although only half of his eyes were showing, both of the silver-haired man's orbs rolled in response to that comment.

"Duly noted. So, what was the plan tonight?"

Looking up, the woman gave what actually looked to Kakashi like a stare of...longing? He gulped in response.

"I figured we'd go get sushi then head back to your place. Sound good?"

Kakashi sighed. This girl had one hell of an appetite.

"Right. Why my place, again?"

Instead of answering, first, the Inuzuka punched him in the shoulder, earning a curse under the breath from the Jounin. Only then did she reply.

"Your bed is more comfortable, and I don't think mom wants you in the house, like I said."

Nodding, Kakashi shrugged while turning back towards the village, speaking the next question on his mind.

"Fair enough. And I suppose I'm paying?"

From behind him, the man could only hear a snort, so he knew what was coming.

"Please, you're the one with a Jounin's salary. You make on one mission what I make in a month, Kakashi."

Deflating immediately, Kakashi's head fell to the right side as if he was acting dejected.

"Of course; and on Thursday the excuse is going to be that you've been busy working at the Veterinary Hospital as a volunteer, right?"

Again, he received a punch in the arm for that one, although he deserved it.

"Don't be an asshole, Kakashi."

Managing a pained smile while still clutching his arm, Kakashi replied in kind.

"I'll try my best, Hana."

"Damn straight."

* * *

On the other side of the Inuzuka compound, a certain 13-year old boy was walking outside to smoke something he'd bought off of a former classmate the night prior. Supposedly, it was a joint that didn't stick, scent-wise. This was, of course, the most important part of the whole operation, which the boy had codenamed "Operation: Get High Without Mom Finding Out".

Of course, a certain orange-jumpsuit wearing ninja had found a way to intrude on that plan. It was by pure coincidence that Naruto was running past the compound when he saw his teammate with what looked like from a distance to be a cigarette in his hand. Approaching the boy quickly, Naruto changed course towards him earning a lazy gaze from the Inuzuka. It was only when he got closer that he smelled what the "cigarette" really was.

"...Kiba, is that a joint?"

Raising his eyebrows, Kiba gave a half-hearted toothy grin because he was, admittedly, quite tired, but still managed to get out a snarky response.

"No Naruto, it's a line of cocaine. Yes it's a joint, you moron. Could you smell it?"

The blonde nodded with a frown on his face, more-so because of the 'moron' comment than anything else. Kiba cursed under his breath at the sight, before laughing at the realization that he'd been duped by a classmate.

"Hah, fucking Haru is going to give me my hundred and fifty ryo back for lying, the bastard. Anyway, what's up Naruto?"

Still eyeing the joint carefully, Naruto responded with a cautious interest.

"I was just heading home... have you ever done this before?"

His eyes widening, Kiba quickly shrugged before affirming the boy's statement.

"Yeah, once in a while. You?"

Naruto shook his head, finally earning a genuine smile from Kiba, this time laced with a little bit of mischief.

"Wanna try?"

* * *

"Woahhhhhhhh, and you say Shikamaru does this all the time?"

Kiba lay on the grass next to his teammate staring up at the sky, taking a second to process before answering.

"Yeah, how else do you think he ends up staring at clouds all day? He's lazy, but not _that_ lazy without this stuff."

Naruto grunted something along the lines of "makes sense" before ceasing speech for a moment. As silence washed over the two usually loud Genin, something lit up in Naruto's brain as he thought of what, in his mind, was a deep and profound question.

"Hey Kiba, wanna be friends?"

To that, the Inuzuka snorted, initially unsure of how to reply at first. After yet another moment of silence, he spoke with a sort of resigned tone, although it wasn't as if he sounded bothered; more that he'd expected something like this from his teammate.

"Yeah, Naruto. You're not so bad."

To that, the orange-clad Genin beamed.

For another half hour, the two lay on the grass of the training ground, trading occasional jabs at the other, whilst intermittently commenting on how 'alive' the stars looked that evening. To any passerby, although there were none around the training grounds that late at night, they would have just looked like any two bored teenagers. But to the duo, what they were undergoing was a once-in-a-lifetime bonding session of sorts. To Kiba, it was a sort of initiation into the 'pack'. To Naruto, it was the moment he made his first genuine friend.

It was only as the time struck 9:30 PM that the night's next development came. Breaking the silence once more, Naruto asked a question that had been bouncing around his brain for a few minutes.

"Hey Kiba, wanna spar?"

Puckering out his lip as if he was thinking for a moment, the Inuzuka responded quickly, seeing no issue with the proposal.

"Sure, why not."

Springing to his feet, Kiba had to make sure he steadied his balance at first, but soon enough, his spacial awareness returned to him. Naruto, on the other hand, was a bit slower on the uptake, and struggle to make his way to his feet, taking a brief moment upon standing up to center himself. If you'd asked the boy then and there, he'd have told you he felt like he was falling off of the world. Kiba had to hold back his laughter at the sight, instead choosing to make a backhanded comment, as he tended to.

"You sure you're gonna be able to spar, Naruto? You look like you're having a tough time over there."

Naruto rolled his eyes as he finally steadied himself.

"Oh shut up, Kiba."

At that, the two jumped backwards, each struggling a tad with the landing. Across the grassy park clearing, Naruto called out to his teammate, explaining the rules.

"Taijutsu only sound good?"

Kiba gave Naruto a look laced with intrigue at his statement, instead suggesting a separate ruleset.

"Nah, we can use ninjutsu too. After all, if this was just a Taijutsu fight, you'd lose straight away."

Cracking his knuckles, the orange-wearing shinobi chuckled.

"It's your funeral man."

* * *

Kiba was the first to strike, launching himself forwards with a running right hook aimed at Naruto's face. From their previous experiences sparring one another at the academy, Kiba knew Naruto tended to try and take attacks head on, so he found himself surprised when Naruto redirected his fist with his right arm before rising up from beneath him and striking him across the face with a left handed straight.

Staggering back a few feet, Naruto took advantage of his teammate's stunned status, Naruto moved upon his opponent with speed, dashing forwards and following his punch up with a right knee to the chest, causing Kiba to kneel over. However, Naruto's reaction time was far from perfect at the moment, so even when he saw the uppercut coming out of the corner of his eye, he didn't have time to move out of the way. The punch hit home right under Naruto's chin, launching him backwards and to the ground as Kiba himself staggered from the force of Naruto's knee.

"I g-gotta say Naruto, you pack one hell of a punch."

Picking himself back up, Naruto coughed out a retort of his own.

"You're not too bad yourself, but don't worry, now I'll get serious."

After that, the two avoided speaking. Instead Naruto made a single handseal, one which Kiba recognized instantly. One puff of smoke later and an identical clone of the blonde ninja stood beside him. Gritting his teeth, Kiba prepared to fight an uneven battle. Both Narutos rushed him simultaneously, the one on the right aiming to strike him with a right legged roundhouse kick and the real Naruto on the left aiming to strike with a left legged kick of the same nature. Quickly springing into action, Kiba drew a kunai with his left hand and raised his shoulder in time for his left arm to take the brunt of the attack. In tandem he raised his right arm to block the clone's right legged kick in a much more complete way, grabbing on the its leg and stopping it in its tracks. Then, with his left hand, he flicked the kunai towards the clone, causing it to burst into a puff of smoke much as it had arrived.

What Kiba didn't account for was how large a space that smoke would occupy. Feeling Naruto's right leg lift off of his arm, he couldn't make out the boy's movements for a moment with the smoke screen covering most of his figure. It was only when his right leg came plowing through the middle of the smoke aimed to strike him in his stomach that Kiba was able to react.

He was a faster shinobi than Naruto, especially at the moment, being far more used to the state of mind he was in as opposed to the inexperienced blonde. Thus, he had time to clamp both of his hands around the boy's leg, grunting at the exertion of doing so. If nothing else, Naruto could certainly throw a punch, or in this case, a kick.

However, as the smoke faded, it revealed a grinning Naruto, who had yet another surprise in store for the Inuzuka boy as it turned out.

"Taifū no Ashige - Tyhoon Kick!"

Kiba's eyes widened as the foot he held only inches from his chest suddenly lit up with a green glow before firing a sphere of wind into his chest which knocked him through the air, several feet backwards, where he landed on the ground. Then, before he could get up, Naruto was on top of him, fist inches from his face. For a second, the two boys simply stared at each other, locked in that same position. It was only when Kiba broke his stare with a wide grin that the Uzumaki's fist broke, instead opening into a helping hand to help the Inuzuka up.

As the boy was helped up, he cracked his neck a couple of times, exhaling heavily at the realization of how hard he'd been hit.

"That was one hell of a move Naruto; when did you learn that?"

Sporting his grin again, Naruto simply shrugged before replying a tad more discreetly than he had to the same question earlier that day.

"It's a secret."

Smiling back, Kiba offered a fist which Naruto bumped with his own. As he began to walk home, Naruto followed him for a few feet, trying to close out the night on a high note.

"We should do this again sometime, Kiba."

Raising his eyebrows, the Inuzuka asked the question on both boys' minds.

"The weed or the sparring?"

To that, Naruto could only laugh. For the first time in a long time, he had had a good night. A night with a friend.

* * *

**A/N: **So there are probably a few controversial decisions to be made here but yeah; Naruto knows Wind Release already! Obviously not to the degree he learns it later, but I'd like to diversify his arsenal beyond just the Rasengan and its millions of variants. Furthermore, he picked it up so quickly in Shippuden that learning a much simpler technique seems like it would take less time than the Shadow Clone Jutsu would have. That jutsu scroll comes in handy when you want to make your character know things they shouldn't I guess! As for the weed! It's weed, they're teenagers; there's no reason to suggest at least one of the Rookie 9 wouldn't be a stoner, and why not have it be Kiba? It works well as a contrast to his hatred of strong smells and I love anything that lets me play with character traits. Finally, Kakashi and Hana. This was something a reviewer asked about, and once I heard it, I realized I had to work it into the story; it'll be lots of fun, I promise!

Please leave a review! It helps so much!


End file.
